EDITORIAL: Low blood supplies require quick help

Our view: Help before Labor Day is important due to traditionally high road accident rates and a lack of blood donors.

Southeastern Michigan blood supplies are at seriously low levels and, with the potentially dangerous Labor Day travel season approaching, this is an important time for blood donors to volunteer.

Overall, this is the seventh week of a Red Cross critical appeal for blood donations. Regionally, the supply of blood has dipped from two days to only one. Supplies of Type O are even lower. (Officials say a three-day supply is considered adequate for meeting ongoing and emergency needs.)

Volunteer blood donors provide the majority of blood that hospital patients require daily for regular and emergency care. Due to last-minute traveling, this traditionally is one of the weakest times of the year for donations.

A number of local blood drives have been scheduled. On Thursday, the Hudson Community Center hosts a drive from noon to 5:45 p.m. On Friday, a drive is planned at Tecumseh United Methodist Church on Bishop Reed Road from noon to 5:45 p.m. On Saturday, the Somerset Beach Campground Fieldhouse at Somerset Center will host a drive just outside Lenawee County from 10:15 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Other activities have been slated to raise awareness. During the Aug. 17 NASCAR race at Michigan International Speedway, for example, the Red Cross had an exhibit set up on the midway. Roush Fenway Racing driver Greg Biffle sported the Red Cross logo on his No. 16 Ford.

The relation is appropriate. Auto accidents seem to increase as summer winds down, and a single accident can require dozens of units of blood. There is no substitute for blood donors, and now is a vital time for those able to drive over and help.

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